After persevering through a number of campaigns, Xavier Louis Suarez was finally elected as Mayor of the city of Miami. He was sworn in on November 13, 1985, and was the first Cuban born citizen to win this office. Suarez was born in Las Villas, Cuba, and immigrated to the US in 1962. He graduated from Villanova University and from Harvard University Law School. Suarez won with 57% of the vote. The New York Times reported that in his first words, the Mayor chose to emphasize his roots and an identification with the humble. “A great, great man once said: ‘Con los pobres de la tierra quiero yo mi suerte echar – With the poor people of this earth I want to share my fate.'” The quote is from the Cuban patriot and poet Jose Marti.